Youth football 'Super Bowls' featured at big Abilene stadiums

Parker Dunnam of the Jets tries to get past the Buccaneers defense during the 4-5 year-old division at the West Texas Youth Football Association Super Bowl Sunday at Shotwell Stadium. The Jets won 19-0 to complete their winning 13-0 season.

Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News

Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News
Parker Dunnam of the Jets tries to get past the Buccaneers defense during the 4-5 year-old division at the West Texas Youth Football Association Super Bowl Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010 at Shotwell Stadium. The Jets won 19-0 to complete their winning 13-0 season.

Football reigned at McMurry University’s Wilford Moore Stadium as championship games — or Super Bowls — for the All Texas Youth Football League were played Saturday.

League teams also competed in third-place games Sunday at the Lee Athletic Complex.

“It went off very well,” said Horace Lopez, one of the league commissioners. “Nobody got hurt. Everybody enjoyed it and had fun.”

The league is in its second year of existence and provided teams for approximately 800 players, Lopez said.

“There were rumors (that) we were shutting down, but we’re fine,” Lopez said. “We’ve received a lot of phone calls from other teams that want to come over this way.”

Lopez said the league emphasizes safety for its players and provides an atmosphere where parents are encouraged to watch the game instead of being involved in other activities around the field.

“We provide all of that,” he said. “It’s been pretty awesome — from the feedback we’ve received from parents.”

There is actually one more game before the season ends. Each age group will play an all-star game Dec. 4.

“This will be Abilene’s first football all-star games,” Lopez said. “It’s almost like a Pro Bowl. We’ll see how it goes.”

Three teams with championship aspirations — Abilene High Eagles, Cooper Cougars and Abilene Christian University Wildcats — played regularly at Shotwell Stadium this season.

On Sunday, some future Eagles, Cougars and Wildcats took the field for their Super Bowl.

The West Texas Youth Football Association, formerly Big Country Youth Football, played championship games in four age levels Sunday at Shotwell.

Only the speed of the game, the age of the participants and the size of the crowds were different.

Horns, cowbells, chants, cheerleaders — everything was there, including the winning coach being drenched at the end of the game.

Nearly 1,000 players participated in the league this year, said Alan Bailey, the league’s vice president.

“People see the two Abilene high school teams. They wonder how they are getting so good,” Bailey said. “They are starting right here and moving on up.”

Anthonie Corley, 7, a student at Bonham Elementary, was in the stands watching his cousin play for the Junior Pee Wee Bucs. Earlier in the afternoon, his undefeated Chargers team claimed the Mighty Mites division.

What were he and his teammates talking about as they prepared for the game?

“The Chargers are going to win,” he said.

Coming off the field after the game, he said the team feeling was “We’re the best; we’re the champions.”

“It’s a busy schedule, but it’s all worth it as long as they’re happy,” father Chase Corley said. “They get frustrated at times. You have to tell them, ‘It’s all right; it’s just a game.’ ”

Chase said Anthonie knows what he’s doing on the field because “He plays it all the time on PlayStation.”

The Super Bowl was treated like any other game by the parents and fans, he said.

“We just came out like we did every week, yelled and cheered on the kids,” he said. “When they hear you yelling for them, it gets them excited, and they want to go out there and do big things,”

Leslie Trevino, mother of Cowboy Jeremiah Trevino, admitted to not knowing much about football, but she was there for her son and husband, one of the team’s coaches. With younger children to also care for, how did she work out her schedule?

“It’s not that bad,” she said. “We take turns. My husband spends those two hours with Jeremiah, and I tend to the other kids.”

What was Jeremiah’s feeling about playing at Shotwell?

“They were excited because this is where the high school kids and everybody plays,” she said. “So this is, like, big. Yesterday he was really sick to his stomach. I think he was just really nervous.”

No matter what happened Sunday, she was proud of her football-playing son.

“I don’t care if he won or lost. I told him that before he came. I just feel like they made it this far, and they did good.”

Postgame note: Jeremiah’s Cowboys won the game and will be one of three teams from the Abilene organization to play in the Thanksgiving Classic next week in Odessa.